Update! Bar Sajor just announced it will opens for limited service tomorrow (Thursday, February 21) at 4pm and on Friday. Regular hours will begin Monday, February 25, when Bar Sajor will begin serving lunch and dinner on weekdays, opening at 11am (with a limited menu on Mondays). Weekend hours are still TBD.

If three of a kind constitutes a trend, then bars that serve cured, smoked and sliced meats are the new black, at least on Capitol Hill. First came Cure, the wee bar in an alley behind Broadway, which opened two years back. There charcuterie and cheeses, olives and pickles, Euro wines, several beers and cocktails lure folks in.

No, Honoré Bakery's Franz Gilbertson isn't opening a new Spanish-inspired bakery (tears). However, the owner of one of Ballard's best bakeries is a partner in a new Spanish sandwich shop opening in early March on Capitol Hill.

If three of a kind constitutes a trend, then bars that serve cured, smoked and sliced meats are the new black, at least on Capitol Hill.
First came Cure, the wee bar hidden in the alleyway behind Broadway on Nagle Place, which opened two years back. There, the menu features charcuterie and cheeses, olives and pickles, Euro wines, several beers and cocktails, and folks generally stop in for happy hour or to tipple and nosh a little before a show or for a late-night snack.

I woke up hungry at 5:34 this morning, but instead of being annoyed by the Dark O’Clock beginning of my day, I replayed the sweet, sweet dream that stirred me from slumber. There was a pile of perfectly lovely pasta on my brain.
Since supping at a hosted, soft opening dinner earlier this week at Maria Hines’ brand new Agrodolce in Fremont, I had been thinking about the hand cut tagliarini.

I first heard rumblings about Matt Dillon (Sitka & Spruce, Corson Building) opening a bakery in Pioneer Square last spring. It was just rumor then, a word dropped by a friend we have in common. Sometimes food-world friends spill the beans on things. But I kept quiet, as Dillon hadn't finalized leases yet, and didn't want to comment.

If you've been mentally camping out in preparation for Shanik's opening (which was supposed to happen today!), well, hunker down for a few more days. We've been tracking this, the most exciting opening of the year for nearly a year. Now, we have to wait just a few more days for the place to launch.

There may be no better pre-holiday gift than a spot at Bruce Naftaly's (sure-to-sell-out-in-a-hot-minute!) cooking classes at Le Gourmand. In fact, several years ago I sent my parents to one of Naftaly's classes, and though I have yet to see demi-glace grace the old Austin table during a holiday dinner, George and Nancy sure enjoyed sipping wine and watching chef Naftaly's expert cooking, and then tasting the delicious meal he cooked for them. They still talk about it nearly ten years later.

When I found out that Marx Foods, the online specialty food retailer that supplies restaurants like Alinea and recently caught the attention of Food & Wine magazine, would be opening a brick-and-mortar space, it piqued my interest. There's still plenty of demand for specialty food stores in Seattle, and Marx Foods, which opened yesterday, sounds distinctive.